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Students danced into the new school year at the Welcome Back dance held in the Student Union on Aug. 29 from 9-11 p.m. For the first time in school history, all four classes were in attendance at this annual tradition meant to rally school spirit and incorporate the new class of freshmen into school culture.

“The goal of this dance is always to introduce the newcomers into this school…[with] a casual thing with a game and a dance,” vice president and senior Nishad Francis said. “It really gives people a chance to have fun. This is because often times people are just swamped with work…and something as small as this Back to School dance where it is really cheap and anyone can come in after enjoying a football game allows you to unwind and realize that high school is a time where it is not just for work but to do what you love.”

At $5 a ticket, the dance featured a D.J. as always, in addition to a refreshments table with candy and cold water to enjoy outside the dance floor. ASB started planning the dance during summer, using the extra time to create posters and inform more people across campus about the dance.

“I like that ASB is really putting a lot of effort this year because it makes us have that sense of school spirit when we come to dances,” junior Rachel Abalos said. “I think that the dances are improving each year as ASB improves each year. It actually made me happy to see the freshmen very excited for their first dance.”

Each year, the new class of freshmen brings its own spirit to the entire school culture. For the 2023 class, this included trends from TikTok, a new social media app. Although it seems that these trends were mostly partaken by the freshman class, the event was an opportunity in which all classes could come together in spirit.

“Just being able to hang out with my friends is pretty fun. I mostly stick with my friends and we have a good time with ourselves,” freshman Varsha Raju said. “Though, I think that the dance builds more of a community with each other. Even though we are not hanging out with other people, the dance makes it feel like we are closer to each other.”